600 or 1000cc?

[inexplicable718]

Hi, i had a gs500 for about a month. Now i want to get a new bike. i want to get a 1000 gsxr. Will i be able to handle it? i mean i got on a zx10r and  i didnt feel like it was too big for me or anything. My friend says that 1000 is too big of a engine for me so i should stick with 600 only. Can you guys give me ur personal experience?


DID ANYONE BUY A 1000 RIGHT AWAY WITHOUT GETTING ANY SMALL BIKES?


Thanks

[jeremy_nash]

i went from gs500 to a ninja1000. 
I went back to the gs500. only you know your limits.
the rush from the speed is nice, but the gs will break any speed-limit, so does it really matter?  what is the reason you want the new bike?  to be flashy, cuz chicks like 600's?
I dont mean to souns like a dikweed, but telling us the reason you want to upgrade may help us give you more focused opinions.

that being said, I sold the ninja, and continued riding my gs.  the ninja was only faster in a straight line, and the gs is ALOT cheaper on insurance

[black and silver twin]

a gs500 makes 39whp stock, a gsxr600 makes 100whp stock, a gsxr1000 makes 150whp stock. ide say get a 600, ive have ridden 1 600 and 1 750 (ninja and gsxr respectively). the 600 was stupidly fast and way more than you could ever need on the street, the 750 was mind bluringly fast. I will not ever buy any bike with more than 120ish whp simply because at that point you cant even go full throttle till 3rd gear any way due to excessive wheelieing and burnouts. which by the way 1st goes 80mph, 2nd 110mpg, 3rd 140mph, 4th 160mph. I was too scared to go any faster than redline in 4th (160mph). it was still pulling hard too, could have easly gone 180mph.

long story short, even a 600 will go faster than you understand. the 750 would power wheelie at 150. it scared the piss outa me. I cant even imagine a 1000. I have no urge to find out.

having said that, my next bike will be 600 and yes i will probably modify it to get around 115whp. but that is simply because Stock realy does keep me up at night.

[Elijafir]

The first street bike I ever rode was an 06 GSXR 1000.  I had a lot of experience riding dirt bikes and atvs.  It did not prepare me at all for that bike.  It was not too heavy or uncontrollable.  It was actually very nice.  I felt very comfortable and confident on it. The first time I rode it I was going ~140mph inside of 10 minutes.   I was going ~180mph on it inside of two weeks.  I crashed it and sold it inside of a month.  I was young and very dumb, so no one needs to let me know how stupid I was, okay?  I'm lucky I wasn't seriously hurt or killed on it.  Just some minor road rash on my forearms.  If you have extremely good self control there is no reason not to get a 1000, it is an AMAZING machine.  If you want something a little more light, better handling, and better fuel mileage, stick with the 600.  I +1 wanting to know the reason you want to upgrade after only a month?  I am totally satisfied with the GS.. it gets well above any speed limit without any trouble.  It handles amazingly.  I'm getting 50mpg on the freeway.  I don't feel tempted to go kill myself fast on it like I did with the GSXR.  I don't think anyone should get on a bike that powerful without several thousand miles of motorcycle experience.  You are just as likely to kill someone else with it as you are yourself.  Whatever you decide- Don't be an idiot like me. Obey the traffic laws.  If you need to go fast find a race track.  Ride Safe.

Edit: After reading the above post... I have to agree.. the GSXR 1000 would do 90mph in first gear RIGHT NOW.  You could not keep the front tire on the ground accelerating that fast... It's truly insane that they allow a machine that fast on our public roadways! 
IT'S ALL ABOUT SELF CONTROL - AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LOT OF IT TO BEHAVE ON THESE SUPER SPORT BIKES!!!

[black and silver twin]

I actually understand his urge for a faster bike very early. I was the same way, 3 months after buying my gs I wanted to upgrade. It was probably for a different reason than most people though, my car is faster than my bike! when my bike was stock my car would smash it from 0-any speed. but rather than buy another bike I just modified the gs, and with full exhaust, lunchbox, dynotuned jets, dynotuned ignition timing, and substantial lightening, plus a 15t front sprocket my bike is faster from 0-60ish. I'm hoping with a 14t sprocket it will be better until 80ish.

but the gs will never touch my car in top speed in its current trim the gs will redline in 6th at 120ish mph, my car will get to 6200 in 5th at 150ish mph. and a 14t will onlt lower the gs' top speed. this is the main reason for my decision to (oneday, not any time soon) get a 600.

[Gary856]

Hi, i had a gs500 for about a month. Now i want to get a new bike. i want to get a 1000 gsxr. Will i be able to handle it?

Of course not. You maybe able to ride it, but you won't be able to handle it. 

[mister]

Hi, i had a gs500 for about a month. Now i want to get a new bike. i want to get a 1000 gsxr. Will i be able to handle it?

No. You won't be able to handle it. You THINK you can, but you really can't.

Sure. I'm not you. You might have a predisposition for bikes. Yadda yadda yadda. But a month's ownership doesn't make you a rider.

In Aust we have a Provisional Licensing System. Where new drivers/riders are Restricted for the first X period of time - X is different depending on the state you live in. And those on Provisional have to display a P on the car to let the cops know who they are so they can fine them for speeding.

Anyway. "P Platers" as we call them, have more Crashes than anyone. They also drive more reckless than anyone. Why? Because they think that their provisional license means they can drive. It doesn't. It means they have the rudimentariness of Steering a car and nothing more. To be a Driver takes time behind the wheel experiencing many different driving and road conditions in all kinds of weather and at all times of the day - and repeated exposure to such. It takes an ability to Read the traffic. To anticipate a wide variety of Events and act accordingly - Before it's too late, and even before it's happened.

Be it a car or a bike, the same applies. Time spent riding in a wide variety of weather conditions, traffic conditions, and road conditions, and repeatedly. THAT makes you a rider. Going fast in a straight line only means you can go fast in a straight line. You need to stop at some point. You need to turn at some point. Being a passenger on a two wheel rocket doesn't mean you are Riding.

I first started riding bikes around 30 years ago. My current bike is a K9 GS500. Bought new, I've put 19,500 kms on it since August last year. Check the for sale listings and you don't see five year old bikes with this many clicks. I'll easy hit 24,000 before I've owned it for a year. I still have not discovered everything this bike is capable of. I still have not ridden this bike to anywhere near its full potential. And you think after one month you need to upgrade?

You asked if you could handle it after a month of GS500 riding? I say, "No, you can't handle it. Spend more time on the GS. Become more of a Rider as opposed to a passenger on two wheels. Spend 12 months on the GS. Clock up 20,000 clicks. THEN decide if you still want to upgrade. And if you do, make sure it's because you want to do it for you, not because your buddies have bigger bikes and are talking you into it, or cause you want to hang out at Starbucks and look cool, or cause it'll impress the chicks."

Michael

[tt_four]

Oh man, I was hesitant to even post here because I wasn't sure if it was a serious post or not, but enough people have responded, so why not?

I spent my first 15k miles of riding on a dual sport and a ninja 250. After about 2-3 years of those I bought a triumph 600 and rode 22k miles on that. It had less power than some of the other japanese 600s in 2003, but it was still ridiculously fast. I almost fell off the back the first time I twisted the throttle, because until you're used to that kind of power you have no idea how hard it actually pulls. I used to stand that up in 3rd gear when I was already going 90mph, and I'd set the front wheel back down going well over 100mph. I definitely wouldn't ever do that now.

Even after 35k miles over the past 10 years of riding, I'd still be hesitant to buy a 1000. That's because I'm partly afraid of what I'd get into, and partly because too much power at some point isn't even fun anymore. When I go into a turn I like to lean and twist the throttle to go. The last thing I want to worry about is keeping my front wheel on the ground when I'm leaned over at a 45 degree angle already going 75mph. If your front wheel comes off the ground in a situation like that you're done for unless you really know what you're doing.

If you're only ever on the highway, I can see why people would want something faster. There were times where I was cruising in 6th gear and I wouldn't have minded a little more power, but not for real riding. I could lift my front wheel off the ground anywhere up to 60mph with nothing more than the throttle.

I think you're assuming that on a scale of 1-10 a GS500=5, a 600cc bike =6, and a 1000=10, which isn't the case at all because a gs does not make 5/6 the power of a 600, and it definitely doesn't make half the power of a 1000. A 600 will have way more than double the power of your 500, and is most likely lighter, so start there.

After 35k miles of riding I finally realized that it's not how much power a bike has, but more of how it's made that'll make me enjoy a bike for being fast. Before you hit the power on any inline 4 you're already revving to 9k rpm, and when the motor is spinning that fast it's just gonna make you want to go faster. I started looking into some V-twins so I can actually get some power in the RPM range that I'll use it, and won't feel the need to ride around at 11k rpm anymore.

Make friends with some people who will let you ride their bikes, and then decide if that's really the bike you'd want on a daily basis.

[tt_four]

and a side note..... After those 22k miles of my last 600, and then getting back on the GS after not riding for a couple years, I realized the power isn't the thing I miss at all. The thing that I really miss is having a nice suspension. That's what makes for a fun ride. You're more confident in turns and everywhere else, so instead of barely making turns and powering out of them thinking you're fast, you can actually just take some speed into a turn and come out with it, and you don't need all that power to make up for the fact that you're a slow rider.

I'm not gonna give you a hard time either way because from your post I'm going to assume you're 18 and get jealous every time you see someone pulling wheelies on the highway or away from redlights, and I felt the same way when I was that age, and that's what I did when I had my bike, but almost dying gets old, and you'll definitely get hurt eventually.

[ohgood]

I actually understand his urge for a faster bike very early. I was the same way, 3 months after buying my gs I wanted to upgrade. It was probably for a different reason than most people though, my car is faster than my bike! when my bike was stock my car would smash it from 0-any speed. but rather than buy another bike I just modified the gs, and with full exhaust, lunchbox, dynotuned jets, dynotuned ignition timing, and substantial lightening, plus a 15t front sprocket my bike is faster from 0-60ish. I'm hoping with a 14t sprocket it will be better until 80ish.

but the gs will never touch my car in top speed in its current trim the gs will redline in 6th at 120ish mph, my car will get to 6200 in 5th at 150ish mph. and a 14t will onlt lower the gs' top speed. this is the main reason for my decision to (oneday, not any time soon) get a 600.

it must have been a very, very close race before your "mods" to the gs. what. are were you comparing it to?

I don't know of any modifications to a gs that will improvement a gs acceleration more than a few tenths of a second.

[romulux]

I'm pretty impressed with the responses from everyone -- I'm glad you're not all advocating a big bike.

A little TU250 that you wring the hell out of can be more fun than a 4cyl sportbike.  In addition, spending time on a smaller bike lets your skillset progress much faster than they will on a big bike.  A rider who can fully exploit a small bike will always be better than a squid on a supersport who is riding to stroke his ego and impress the people around him.

You're also less likely to kill yourself on a small bike because you can't negotiate a turn or you just lose control at 150 mph.

[kml.krk]

excellent posts mister and tt_four!

[tt_four]

A little TU250 that you wring the hell out of can be more fun than a 4cyl sportbike. 

I feel I should mention that while I completely agree, people have different ideas of fun. Some people want nothing more than to ride gracefully around some smooth curves, some people like cruising around busy city streets, and some people want nothing more than to twist a throttle when they're already going 80mph and feel like the skin is going to get ripped right off of their face. The last is the absolute only reason to ever want a 1000cc bike, and if you're new it's a 90% chance it'll kill you. If you want to feel acceleration, 1st gear on a 600 doesnt' feel much different than a 1000. You can wheelie on either with nothing more than throttle, and you can't make a 1000 feel faster in 1st gear unless you put a longer swingarm on it, because once the front wheel comes up you obviously have to stop accelerating. If you get to 2nd gear and still have this problem, you're already going to be going 70mph. Again, as someone with 35k miles and 10 years of experience, I'm telling you I'm still afraid of of 1000cc bikes. That's coming from someone who likes to go fast, not some old guy on a sport touring bike that gets annoyed by people who want to ride fast. The other thing I'm afraid of, is the fact that you referred to 600cc sport bikes as a small bike. If that's a serious thought in your head you really need to get someone let you test ride one so you can get that idea out of your head quick.

It's generally known around sportbike circles that 600s are the faster bikes, and 1000cc bikes are often just ridden by people who can't ride as fast, so they try to make up for it with extra power. Ask around and plenty of people will tell you that. The only people who deny it are the ones who are trying to live their life like a DMX video, and we all know where that'll get you...

[Eklipse]

How old are you? If you're 18-25 I would stick with the 500 for several more years until you get all that excess testosterone out of your system and all the urges to go 185 on the freeway. Insurance rates usually drop at about 25, too.

But in the end, you'll do what you want. Just think about it.

[tt_four]

Insurance rates usually drop at about 25, too.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. Have you tried calling your insurance company yet to ask what it'll cost? Unless you can pay out of pocket for a bike, expect to pay for full coverage, if you're no older than 21 that's probably going to cost you a minimum of $2000 a year for a 600cc bike. You've also got to factor in the minimum of 2 tickets you're going to get per year, which are going to take your rates up as well.

[saxman]

Keep riding the GS until you understand why a 1000cc isn't a good idea to jump straight to. Once you understand that, then you can make an educated choice as to if it's right for you.

In other words, if you have to ask, no.

[Raydr]

I've had my GS500 for about 3 years now. I've been thinking about upgrading but haven't yet, mostly because I don't trust myself. My next bike will likely be a 750 (which is a big jump and I get nervous just thinking about it) and I don't think I'll ever go any higher. I just don't see the point.

I'm with everyone else - wait a while.

[O.C.D.]

Insurance rates usually drop at about 25, too.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. Have you tried calling your insurance company yet to ask what it'll cost? Unless you can pay out of pocket for a bike, expect to pay for full coverage, if you're no older than 21 that's probably going to cost you a minimum of $2000 a year for a 600cc bike. You've also got to factor in the minimum of 2 tickets you're going to get per year, which are going to take your rates up as well.

I just posted this in another thread but it is viable in here as well.

I just called Progressive. 

A $19,000, 2010 Streetfighter S would be $3500 a year, lol. $291 a month!

A $14,000, 2010 Monster 1100S would be $1300 a year.  $108 a month

A  $8-9,000,  2005 Monster S4RS would be $517 a year.  $43 a month

These are for prices on dual cylinder Ducati's and not inline 4's that cost even more.

[tt_four]

I can also say the last bike I got quotes on was a 2009/2010 Buell xb9sx, and it was about $500-600 for full coverage. An inline 4 sportbike is a minimum of $1000, but I can't remember exactly. Those figures are also for a 26 year old married guy who owns a house, and has not had a single ticket in the past 5 years.

I also love the 750s, but that's the fastest I'd ever go. If I end up with an I4 that's the bike I want, but I'm still hoping to get an xb9s or xb12s. Both bikes are seriously down on HP and top speed compared to the 750, but they've both got a lot more low end torque, which would give me the power I want, and I wouldn't have to be going 120mph to get it.

You'll always do way better on insurance to pick up a bike that's considered not as fast, and fix it up so it's faster. That Speed Four was considered a "standard", but it was basically a naked sportbike. You could also pick up an sv650 and upgrade the suspension, or various other bikes and still come out with a really nice and fast bike that isn't going to be as likely to kill you.

[purplepeopleeater]

''My next bike will likely be a 750 (which is a big jump and I get nervous just thinking about it) and I don't think I'll ever go any higher. I just don't see the point.''
Not a bigger jump as you may think, had GSX750F - good tourer, heavier, better pulling power at highway speed for overtaking. Not a bloody death trap as a lot of posts are trying to con readers into thinking to stay with the GS. Not a so called sports bike such as R6 or R1 or whatever, but nevertheless a 750.
Horsepower outweighs all other variables with bikes, found that after spending copious amounts of cash over years when buying this and that bike cos they get a good write up, or reading crap about why and why not to buy a bigger bike blah blah bloody blah. Got the GS now cos skint, nuff said.
It's horses for courses and what you want the bike for, talk to ya local bike shop and listen to them. If you can handle a semi-automatic 200cc vespa scooter, you can 'handle' anything, whatever 'handle' means.
Buy big and what you can afford, keep a level head and enjoy the ride